As the number of cases of exploitation and crimes against children increases, one such horrifying act by a 34-year-old North Carolina man led to his conviction on Thursday. After a four-day trial in federal court, Marvarlus Cortel Snead, from Four Oaks, North Carolina, was found guilty of several counts of sexual crimes against a minor.
Snead was found guilty on the counts of sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography. He was also convicted of one count of using interstate commerce facilities to operate an enterprise of prostitution.
"This case is about the victims, who suffered at the hands of a greedy trafficker. Our community will not tolerate perpetrators like this defendant targeting our most vulnerable children and citizens for their profit," said US Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. in a statement.
Enticing and Exploiting Helpless Victims
According to court documents, in December 2017 and January 2018, a minor victim and an adult female were prostituted by Snead. He offered their 'services' to clients in numerous locations across the Eastern District of North Carolina.
It was also stated that Snead particularly targeted those who were considered to be extremely vulnerable, such as minors. He lured unassuming victims with the promises of romance and money. Following this, he would carry out his exploitation.
Making Child Pornography
Once the victims were coaxed into joining him, Snead would manipulate them and prostitute them. Additionally, he also took all their earnings and kept them for himself. Other than exploiting them for financial gains, the Four Oaks man also engaged in sexual relationships with both the minor and the adult woman.
If all these actions were not criminal enough, Snead also used his sexual interactions with the minor victim to produce images and a video of child pornography. With the convictions leveled against him, the 34-year-old stares at a sentence nothing less than 15 years in prison and up to life imprisonment. He could also be fined up to $750,000 and slapped with a lifetime supervised release.
